Laptops

How Much Data Does a Laptop Use on a Hotspot?

A Hotspot is a shared internet service that can be used by many people. If you have an internet package on your phone, then you can create a hotspot and share it with other people. Like this, the other users will also be using your internet, and the MBs will be consumed accordingly. You can also connect your mobile internet with the laptop, but the data consumption of the laptop will be different from the other mobile phone devices.

Can We Use Hotspots on Laptops?

If we can use hotspots on mobile phones, we can also use hotspots on our laptops. The latest laptop models provide the functionality to use the internet through hotspots. So, if you want to use hotspots on your laptops, then you can do it by enabling the WiFi connection of your laptop and connecting it with the mobile data connection.

How Much Data Does a Laptop Use on a Hotspot?

It is possible to use the hotspot on a laptop, but the main question is how much data is used by the laptop if the hotspot is enabled. To answer the above question, first, you should know for what purpose you need the internet. Is it for your games? Do you want to stream content? The data usage will always depend upon the activity you perform using the internet. Below is the table in which information regarding each activity has been mentioned, along with the usage rate per hour.

Activities Data Usage (Per Hour)
YouTube videos 300 – 400 MB
Online Skype Call 250 MB
Internet Surfing 50 MB – 100 MB
Zoom Group Calls 600 MB – 800 MB
Spotify Streaming 30 MB

As you can see that the most MBs which are consumed by the hotspot is due to the video streaming. Watching online videos, especially when using a hotspot, isn’t an excellent idea. It could eat up your whole data package. So, use the hotspot wisely and do only the important tasks.

You can exclude the downloading of various files, and you can also turn off automatic updates to avoid getting consumed your data unnecessarily. Now, it is up to you how you manage to do it. You will have to put in some extra effort to save your internet package from getting utilized completely.

Ways To Save Data While Using Hotspot on a Laptop

Following are the methods you could adopt to save data while using a hotspot on your laptop:

  • Close the programs with higher data consumption, close applications that are consuming the data on your laptop.
  • Close all the background programs and applications to save your hotspot data from getting wasted
  • Turn off the auto updates option; it might eat a lot of your hotspot data

Conclusion

Although the hotspot service is available on cell phones and laptops, you need to use the service very carefully. Having a hotspot doesn’t mean you enjoy unlimited internet; you share the MBs from another device. Use it wisely, so you don’t lose the important MBs doing unnecessary stuff.

About the author

Zainab Rehman

I'm an author by profession. My interest in the internet world motivates me to write for Linux Hint and I'm here to share my knowledge with others.